Wardens Vancouver show

Local Sports

Serevi Vancouver International Sevens chairman Pastor Netani Gucake.Fiji’s Wardens rugby club will pitch their skills in the Serevi Vancouver International Sevens next month.

The reigning Coral Coast Sevens champions have kindly accepted the invitation to show case their might against 12 other international teams in Canada’s largest sevens tournament.

In a media release statement, Coach Timoci Wainiqolo said they were excited at the prospect of taking on teams from all over the world and is grateful to the organisers for inviting them to represent Fiji.

“We are finalising visas and other matters before we release the team but it will be our strongest available line-up,” said Wainiqolo.

Wainiqolo said fans will get to watch the likes of Joji Ragamate, Ilia Tinai, Lepani Botia and Niko Verekauta, who were a part of Fiji’s triumphant team to London sevens last month.

He said former Fiji sevens player Api Naiyabo is also included for the Vancouver trip.

Chairman of Serevi Vancouver International Sevens Pastor Netani Gucake says Rugby Sevens has seen a significant increase in interest in Canada since it was added to the program for the 2016 Olympics in Rio and the presence of the Wardens will help to raise the tournament’s profile even further.

"We are growing the tournament to include some other teams we haven't been able to get in previous years, and a champion team from Fiji is a big boost for us.

"The bigger goal is to have Vancouver as one of the key sanctioned events with the IRB – we all have dreams and we hope one day we will be able to attract 80,000 people as that's the number Hong Kong attracts every year,” Gucake added.

IRB record point scorer, England’s Ben Gollings will be a guest player with Waisale Serevi’s Seattle-based team.

The Serevi Vancouver International Sevens, presented by WINGS pubs and restaurants, will be played on July 21 at the 5,200-seat Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia.